Abstract:
Two small plots near a recently abandoned penguin colony and an area of moss free soil at Cape Bird were prepared by addition of 100ml of McKee crude oil. The plots were covered with steel mesh. These sites were used as a long term study designed to follow the effects of oil on soil biological and biochemical processes. Observations found that the nature of the oil when deposited on land in Antarctica solidified. The aim was to provide baseline information for the concern of future mineral exploitation and the effects of spilt oil.